My pastor was no exception - he did preach about the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday. However, he did it in a way that I've never heard it done before, and in a way that resonated with me as a reminder of something really important. He talked about how Jesus sometimes asks us to do something completely crazy without giving us the full picture of what He has in mind, the way the disciples were asked to go and take a donkey without knowing why. I thought that this was such a unique way of keeping the tradition of preaching on the Triumphal Entry that I decided to write about it here.
The story of the Triumphal Entry is found, among other places, in Matthew 21. As I mentioned before, Jesus had asked the disciples to go and get him a donkey. He wanted them to just take it from the stable. If anyone thought that was strange, the disciples were to tell them that, "The Lord has need of it," and no questions would be asked.
Sometimes Jesus asks us to do things that don't make any sense, expecting us to do them anyway. He has a bigger plan and often, he chooses not to reveal it. Sometimes these things seem completely crazy. This is a hard truth because we have a "need" to understand all the factors before we invest in a course of action. I know that I'm that way, and I think that everyone is, to some extent. Some people would just get on a plane and wait to see where it would take them, but they wouldn't get on a plane without packing or without a passport. Even the most adventurous tends to take some kind of precaution. When something like this is asked of you, it is the ultimate "leap of faith". Jesus asks you to trust him and wait and see what happens, because He does have a plan. But following God fully oftentimes takes real guts. Many times we do not want to do what He wants us to.
That isn't to say that every time you have the urge to do something crazy, Jesus is leading you. Sometimes, the crazy is just that: crazy. He might lead you to dive off a bridge to save someone's life, but I highly doubt he would call you to just jump off a bridge. Taking a leap of faith is different from doing random things on a whim. Knowing whether or not Jesus is leading you takes careful consideration and prayer before action is taken, even if the outcome of that action is obvious, which it rarely is.
I believe that sometimes, though, the path that Jesus wants you to take is obvious even if you don't know where it leads. We should take a stand for Jesus, like the people who shouted and laid their coats down for Jesus (Matt. 21: 8-9). Sometimes this is something that you don't want to do. I probably wouldn't want to put my coat down for some dirty donkey's hooves to trod all over. My coat is nice. I want to keep it that way. But if Jesus were coming to my hometown and I wanted to honor him, I might have to ignore my feeling for my jacket and lay it before him.
My friends might think it was strange, me letting my favorite fleece get all muddy under someone's feet, but I shouldn't let that bother me. You can't let what other people think deter you from doing what you know you should. Taking a stand for Christ is always the right decision. Most likely you will be targeted. Jesus had already made some powerful enemies, and the crowd's reaction to His entry into Jerusalem had them riled up, to put it mildly (Matt. 21: 14-17). You will probably make enemies as well. Even if they aren't intent on killing you, they might make your life miserable and you just have to let them, because the absolute worst thing you could do is back down. Jesus says that he will acknowledge us in heaven if we acknowledge Him on earth, which also gives the impression that the reverse is true - when we get to heaven, Jesus won't recognize us if we haven't acknowledged him while we were still on the earth. "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33)." God is so much more powerful than the people on earth who can hurt us or make our lives uncomfortable for a while.
We need to do something crazy.
We need to take a stand.
I was so interested in this concept that I did a little bit of research, and a found multiple stories of people who recently stood up for their faith in the judgmental culture that we live in today. One of these really stuck with me, and that was the story of Megan and Mandy, twins who's graduation ceremony sparked a lawsuit, and a revival.
Megan and Mandy were graduating that weekend, and Megan had been selected to say a prayer during the ceremony. The morning that the ceremony was to take place, a federal judge issued an order that barred Russell County High School and Megan (cited in the order by name) from conducting the prayer during commencement. Megan faced a terrible decision - one that could change the outcome of her entire life. Three hours before the graduation ceremony, Megan received a phone call from Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel, an organization devoted to protecting religious freedom. They told her that they would be behind her every step of the way, and that God can turn our troubles into amazing opportunities (Harris, Brett and Alex).
"Only a few hours later more than 3,000 people packed into the Russell County High gymnasium to watch 200 seniors graduate. As the principal finished his opening remarks the senior class suddenly stood as one body and began to recite The Lord’s Prayer!
Before they could finish the audience erupted into thunderous applause. Some students were too overcome with emotion to finish. But the statement had been made. They would not bow down to the ACLU (Harris, Brett and Alex)."
Then, Megan stepped up to the podium, prepared to give a speech based on the secular poem The Road Less Traveled. However, she felt that God wanted her to say something else. "You did not put me here to recite a poem, Lord." She prayed for guidance and for the right words to say, and that night she gave her personal testimony and spoke of the peace that comes when you give your life to Jesus. Over and over and over, the speech was interrupted with applause by the very receptive audience. The next morning, Fox News called Megan, and that night, she repeated her testimony on the air, in front of millions of viewers (Harris, Brett and Alex).
"That same afternoon, Mat Staver spoke with Dr. Jerry Falwell, Founder and then Chancellor of Liberty University, and was authorized to offer Megan full scholarship to join the 2006 freshman class. Upon hearing the good news, Megan was overcome with tearful amazement.
'Are you kidding?' she asked. 'I’ve been praying for several years to be able to attend Liberty University, but I simply could not afford it.' But to Mr. Staver’s bewilderment, Megan did not immediately accept the offer. He was puzzled.
Mr. Staver called her a few days later and voice that sounded just like Megan answered the phone. 'Megan?' he asked.
'No, this is Mandy, her twin sister,' the voice replied.
Mandy, he found out, was the one who orchestrated the recitation of The Lord’s Prayer — distributing bookmarks with a copy of the prayer on it in case anyone forgot the words (see the bookmarks in this post’s header).
Mr. Staver immediately called Dr. Falwell. 'Guess what,' he said. 'Megan has a twin sister!'
Dr. Falwell paused briefly, and offered Mandy a full scholarship as well! The twin sisters, who had been planning to attend University of the Cumberlands together, now had an open door to their first choice — Liberty University! (Harris, Brett and Alex)."
Mandy and Megan were both able to receive a wonderful opportunity from their first choice college, not to mention the amazing testimony that they both had, and all because Megan was able to stand up for what she believed in. I'm sure she was afraid. I'm sure she thought that what she as going to do was crazy. I'm sure she was not comfortable, and I'm sure she made a few enemies. But God worked wonders in her life, and she was able to watch as a miracle happened. At the beginning, when she was deciding what she should do, she had no way of knowing how much would come from her decision to follow God (Harris, Brett and Alex).
This story is inspiring in so many ways. It is an amazing story of miraculous courage, and Christian students and teachers, bosses and workers, mothers and daughters and sons and fathers, can all take away the encouragement that God is still working in this country today. Sometimes He calls us to do crazy things. Maybe He is calling you to speak up when that teacher says something you disagree with, even though you could get detention. Maybe He is calling you to gently talk to that family member who is struggling with some sin, even though they might lose respect for you. Maybe He is calling you to go on that trip, to minister to those people, even though it is so far away.
Maybe He is calling you.
WORKS CITED:
Harris, Alex, and Brett Harris. "Megan and Mandy: Taking a Stand for Christ." Web log post. The Rebelution.
N.p., 11 July 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
